Love is Action

Most people have heard of the Five Love Languages. The love languages is a specific way to love another (you love in their love language not yours). The five common ones are physical touch, quality time, acts of service, gifts and words of affirmation. A lot of people though take it to the extreme and only love others in what they suspect are their two top ones (ie: my top one is physical touch with my secondary being quality time; however I have qualities of the other three that I desire).

This got me thinking about several times in my life where I realized that love was an action and not just a state of being or something that was idle. It literally is an action word. Even recently, after a misunderstanding with someone, they made the statement, "You want me to show you I care, you want proof after proof; but you just have to trust me." 

Something didn't completely settle with me on this statement. I prayed on it and asked God to clearly reveal to me how I was to love. Meaning, how do I show someone I love them or care about them. Can I simply just tell them I care and then move on?

No. Love is action. Jesus showed His love for us by literally dying on the cross. 1 John 3:16 "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the breathern." 

Literally Jesus' entire life was one big action of love. He healed the sick, He ministered to those who wanted to hear truth, He pursued people passionately through His actions. It was never just words for Him, He always backed up His love with some sort of action whether it was a miracle or a simple spending time with people, etc.

Christ literally performed the ultimate act of love. Christ loved us so much that He died for us. This should motivate us to love others and to love them in the same way that Christ loved us. This means not just saying we love people but really loving them by our actions. We can love our families by showing respect, being courteous, having patience, and understanding in all types of ways. We can love our neighbors by reaching out to them in kindness. We can love the needy of the world by sharing our possessions with them. Loving actions reveal the truth and depth of our love.

Love is selfless. Love thinks of others before it thinks of oneself. 1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. This is not me, this is scripture. We must love one another through deed { actions! } and in truth.

I saw a picture perfect representation of this yesterday at the funeral of my best friends, Papa Jack. He was also like my Papa and I loved and still love him dearly { and his incredible wife Margaret }. I've been best friends with Christin for as long as I can remember. She was the only person that came to support me when I was in the custody battle for my daughter (who was non-blood related). But yesterday we needed each other and we needed other people.

The group I'm apart of, Multiply Charlotte, really showed the action love of Jesus Christ yesterday. We had the leader, Danny come out plus Bethany and the gentlemen I am seeing Aaron all came to support us. Bethany and Danny, even Aaron, didn't have to come. They do not know Christin's family on an intimate level like her and I do. They could have made the choice to say, "I'm sorry for your loss, praying for you." But they didn't just do that. They showed the love of Jesus, in the way that Jesus would show it, by showing up and offering an ear, a shoulder, and a place of rest for both of us.

In human relationships love is the same concept. People must choose the attitude of love and then express it by their behavior. Such behavior touches the heart and emotions of those they love and moves them to reciprocate it. In the Bible, the word "love" does not refer to an emotion, but to an attitude and behavior (including both actions and words). Love is the attitude that stems from choosing to look out for other's interest first; then loving behavior follows.

Today, lets choose something different. Lets choose to love by action. Lets love each other like Jesus did when He spread those two arms across and stood in the in-between for you and I. It can be difficult and uncomfortable, but it's rewarding.

1 John 3:17 But whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?